Richard Tucker

Tucker, Richard, 1913–75, American tenor, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Tucker began his singing career as a cantor and remained one throughout his 30-year operatic career. In 1945 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera singing Enzo in Ponchielli's La Gioconda. He soon became one of the Metropolitan's leading lyric tenors in the French and Italian repertoire, notably in such roles as Rudolfo in Puccini's La Bohème and Radames in Verdi's Aïda.